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| For pictures from earlier years, click
here. |
| Table of Contents
Fall
Spring
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"Nominated
multiple times by different individuals for their outstanding
work, ASU serves as a resource for many student organizations
working to create cultural competence and understanding."
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Fall BOARD RETREAT
By Florence Tran
This year, the ASU Board of 2006-2007 went to Walker, Minnesota
for the beginning of the year retreat. The purpose of this retreat
was so that the New Board could begin to connect with each other
and to define the goals for the year. The retreat was fairly
successful this year, although there were a lot of bumpy edges.
One of the main problems was that the main goal of connecting
with each other was not accomplished. Often times, the board
went separate ways when it came to activities, and no one really
wanted to do the same things. In the following years, it should
be the president’s job to come up with activities where
everyone will be willing to participate, and to persuade reluctant
members to join in. Also, towards the end up the retreat, there
was an event that caused for a lot of the board to split up,
the purpose of the retreat shouldn’t have been to form
separate cliques but to form one large clique with the entire
board. Maybe there will be a way to improve this next year?
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| On the positive side, there were many activities
and games that seemed to work. On the first day, the board separated
in to separate cars and drove 4 hours to Walker Minnesota. That
was a nice experience and a good chance for the board members
to get to know each other in the cars. Walker is a beautiful open
space for a large group, The cabin is surrounded by green grass
and it had trails for us to walk around on. Some of the board
spent time outside while others stayed indoors and watched a movie.
We played games such as Cranium, Mafia, cards, and Taboo. We also
went outside to play Frisbee and later went horse back riding.
Maybe next year we could try some new things, such as ice breakers? |
Karaoke Night
by Sejal Raval
Karaoke night was held in the beginning of the school year
at the end of our kickoff week.
Logistics:
The location for this event was “the cube” in CMU.
This was a great location for the event. The space was able
to accommodate our guests very well. Also, the space is sectioned
well: food was served in one area away from the stage; tables
were scattered in an area behind the elevator and in the corner
where the book store is. The stage was positioned in the corner
by the book store. This is probably the best location as it
is in CMU (central location of student unions). It wasn’t
too big or too small. The karaoke equipment was rented from
the Ha Family, who set up all the equipment and stayed to help
running the equipment. The song selection was decent. Our major
form of advertising was a “kick off week calendar”
that was handed out in front of Coffman Union. Food was catered
from House of Kai.
Improvements:
PR could have started earlier. More flyers could have been posted
around Coffman. Also, we should try to get our event on the
events board in Coffman’s entrance. Most of the board
agreed that the song selection was not very up to date. Look
into other sources for karaoke equipment.
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Activities Fair
By Tony Kousonsavath
Narrative: The activities fair is held twice per year. The
first one is held in the beginning of the Fall semester and
is located in the front plaza of Coffman Memorial Union. The
second on is held in the beginning of the Spring semester and
is located in the Great Hall. It is organized by the Student
Activities Office (SAO). The purpose of the Fair is to promote
and/or introduce your student group to the University campus.
Student groups must register before the event to secure a spot.
On the day of the Fair, tables are available on a first come
first served basis. In the past, ASU has a poster board display
(created by the PR Chairs), the scrapbook, promotional flyers,
candy, a sign-in sheet, and the laptop that displays our website
at the table. It is the job of ASU to attract people to our
table and open up the lines of communication. In the past, the
event runs from 10-2pm and provides free snacks for Fair-goers
(popcorn).
Pros: It’s a great opportunity for ASU to recruit more
members, and the sign-in sheet is a way to get more students
on our list-serve. It also provides us with the opportunity
to promote for any events that may be occurring. SAO promotes
for the Fair itself, so we don’t have to. ASU is also
able to meet other student groups on campus, and get free goodies
from them.
Cons: Generally, attendance has been low for the fairs. Mostly,
we get people that are already members that approach our booth.
In the past, many board members forgot their time slot and didn’t
show up to the booth. Also, ASU may be forced to close because
the board member in charge has to be at the Fair.
Ideas for Improvement: ASU needs to do something fun to attract
people to our booth. Once we attract them to our booth, it’s
important that we are enthusiastic about our organization. The
people at the booth should also be knowledgeable about the organization
so that they can answer any questions that Fair-goers may have.
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Halloween Social
By Nehal Desai
The Halloween Social for 2006 was quite the success. Attendance
was fairly high, and since it was our first event following
our Kick-Off Month, we even attracted new faces. Considering
it was our second annual Halloween social, it was quite the
success. In addition to our Mummy Wrapping Game, we “bobbed”
for apples, and had a Best Costume Award. There was one winner
chosen, and was awarded two tickets the Minnesota Science Museum
Exhibit. We served snacks, along with hot apple cider. Our theme
this year was a hospital, so the decorations were set up accordingly,
with fake blood, fake body limbs, etc. Also, we had the return
of making a tombstone for your friends, and we hung these in
the room for months to follow. (Continued below) |
Cons
Although we had a great attendance, people gathered in small
groups and it was hard for board members to mingle with new
faces. We had great activities planned but it seemed unorganized,
there wasn’t a timely fashion for which activities would
happen, and in what order. Also, since most of the activities
were limited in the number of how many people could participate,
not everyone there was able to take part in the festivities.
Pros
Since this was our second year holding this event, it was good
to see more people in attendance, as well as many new faces.
Also, having a theme to set up the room around made the atmosphere
more festive. The pumpkin carving was a good, fun activity,
and the fondue was a great snack to provide for those who came.
Suggestions
Better organization of the activities, as well as ways to incorporate
more people would make for a smoother event. Also, encourage
more participants of the board members to dressing up, so that
the guests don’t feel out of place when coming to our
social, at which costumes were recommended! |
Kinship of Greater
Minneapolis volunteering event
By Si Chen
Kinship of Greater Minneapolis volunteering event took place
on Saturday December 9th, 2007. The participants included ASU
board (2006-2007), and several students from the affiliate groups.
This event started at 9:00am in the morning and ended around
2:00pm in the afternoon.
Kinship of Greater Minneapolis focuses on helping children between
ages five to fifteen. It encourages the community to assist
children by various types of volunteering events. The event
we participated was the Holiday gift wrapping. All the participants
were divided into two groups, one is categorized as shopper
and the other as wrappers. The shoppers lead the children to
pick out the gifts for their siblings accordingly to their age,
and the wrappers helped the children wrap the gifts.
Although it seemed like an easy job at first, it is actually
quite demanding. There were not enough wrappers because it took
longer to wrap up the presents than picking them out. A lot
of the shoppers ended up wrapping also. The kids often came
in with their parents and siblings so they were fairly easy
to manage when they were shopping. However, some of the kids
could not speak English, so it gets confusing at times. Overall,
it was an enjoyable event. It seemed like the kids enjoyed it
too.
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Volunteering event like this is relatively easy to accomplish
and contributes greatly to the community. There are many other
volunteering opportunities from Kinship of Greater Minneapolis.
They are all listed from their website: http://www.kinship.org/index.html.
It should be kept in mind to contact them early due to their busy
schedule. |
Kung Food Fight
By Komal Desai
Kung Food Fight was held in the last month of the fall semester.
The educational event’s purpose was to include participants
from each affiliate, and to have them showcase their culture/backgrounds.
Originally we were hoping viewers, i.e. supporters of the cooking
teams would come as well. We wanted to give observers a tour
of the different teams making their dishes as an educational
component. Also, we had each team explain the significance of
their dishes at the end of the event to increase the educational
aspect.
(continuted -->) |
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We held the event in Yudof Hall and used their kitchens
for each team. Each team had to submit their recipes one week
in advance, and the board went shopping for supplies to split
up among the teams. We limited the teams to $20 worth of groceries.
Each team had to cook one appetizer and one entrée. HMSA
won the first ever event, and we had four teams total participate,
and the event was covered by the Daily.
My advice: we put this event together in a matter of weeks.
We needed to make posters to advertise, rather than relying
solely on the listserv. Also, we need to publicize the event
for more than two weeks, ideally a month in advance. I think
this would have greatly enhanced participation.
Read about it in the Daily
View
pictures of this event |
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